In business and in our personal lives we seek people we can trust. Dishonesty, particularly lying, is the most prominent way to prevent or destroy trust. Here are 12 don’t-forget rules about lying:
1. Honesty may not always pay, but lying always costs.
2. Trust is a tower, built stone by stone, lies take stones from the bottom.
3. There is no security in secrecy; every undiscovered lie is a live landmine.
4. Lies breed a bodyguard of new lies to protect themselves.
5. Lies look very different to the person lied to than the person telling the lie.
6. Rationalizing, justifying or trying to minimize a lie only deepens distrust.
7. When we are lied to we wonder: “What else have you lied to me about?”
8. It only takes one lie to make you a liar or distrust someone who lied to you.
9. Apologies for lying help but they can’t remove the scar or heal the wound.
10. You can’t disguise lies in half-truths or silence; a lie is a lie.
11. Lying is not only dishonest; it’s disrespectful.
12. When you lie to a liar your still a liar.
This is Michael Josephson reminding you that Character Counts!